Moving to California from England!

Check out this California DMV site for information regarding red and green sticker issues on bikes.

Also, check out the SoCal Wrecking Crew forum for opportunities to hook up with some fellow DRNers in your area when you get moved.

They can also asnwer any questions not covered on the DMV site.

Welcome to DRN!

depending on what you purchase, you'll get either a red or green sticker bike. When you get here, just go to your local motorcycle dealer and they'll be able to let you know. Red sticker bikes generally ride the fall, winter, and spring months. Green sticker bikes ride year round.

In California it is the "Department of Motor Vehicles" that is responsible for boats and vehicles (both on and off road).

The link that Tony provided is a great place to start, that will get you familiar with the issues. When you get here and want to buy a bike my recommendation is that you only consider a bike that has proper registration.

Each state deals with off road vehicles differently. some require dirt bikes to be registered in some way while many states do not. In addition, an off road vehicle used exclusively for racing on a closed course is exempt. As a result there are many bikes available in California that either were brought in from another state or for whatever reason were never registered.

While it is possible to get a used bike registered it can be a difficult and confusing task, not something that I would recommend to anyone let alone someone who just moved here from another country. If the bike is properly registered the seller will have a certificate of title, commonly referred to as the "Pink Slip" (years ago they used to be pink....). If he has that then transferring ownership is easy. The seller signs on the line that releases his interest, you fill in the new owner information, take it to DMV and pay the license fees (figure $100 or so) and its done.

Rod